Portable unloaders



Feb. 23, 1965 .R. w. OBMASCHER 3,170,550

PORTABLE UNLOADERS Filed July 22, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

INVENTOR.

ROBE RT W. OBMASCHER W 1 Wm ATTORNEY Feb. 23, 1965 w. OBMASCHER 3,170,560

PORTABLE UNLOADERS Filed July 22 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT w. OBMASCHER BY ax/M ATTORNEY United States Patent "ice 3,170,560 PORTABLE UNLOADERS Robert W. Obmascher, 421 S. Minnesota St, Prairie du Chien, Wis. Filed July 22, 1963, Ser'. No. 296,800 10 Claims. (Cl. 198102) My invention relates to an improvement in an unloader for various vehicles and storage bins, particularly for those vehicles and bins which discharge the material they store through a bottom opening.

One object of my invention is to provide an unloader which is ideally adapted for unloading railroad hopper cars.

Another object of my invention is to provide an unloader which may be efficiently used to unload any vehicle or storage bin which discharges its stored material through a bottom opening, even when the bottom opening is only a few inches above the surface on which the vehicle or bin rests.

Another object of my invention is to provide a portable unloader which may be quickly towed from place to place at highway speeds. I

Another object of my invention is to provide an unloader which is economically designed to be constructed of a minimum number of parts.

A further object of my invention is to provide a high capacity unloader of such construction that it may be easily operated and maneuvered by a single workman.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of the invention has been selected for exemplification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the unloader of my invention shown in position for unloading.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the unloader of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along 44 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side view of my improved unloader shown in the position in which it is most easily stored or towed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the power train of my novel unloader.

.The two basic functional elements of my portable unloader 10 are a receiving section 11 and an elevator section 12. The receiving section 11, which carries any suitable conveyor belt, but preferably a steel conveyor belt 13 like the one shown in FIG. 2, has a substantially horizontal end 11a which will slide under a bottom discharging vehicle or storage bin to receive the stored material as it is discharged. After reception by the receiving section 11, the material is transported by the conveyor belt 13 to a bucket conveyor 14 which is mounted within the elevator section 12, as shown in FIG. 4. The elevator section 12 is in the substantially vertical position seen in FIG. 1 when the unloader 10 is in use. The material received from the receiving section conveyor belt 13 is carried by the bucket conveyor 14 to the spout 15 in the elevatorrsection 12, where it is discharged into a waiting truck or trailer. In this manner the unloader 10 serves both to unload the vehicle or storage bin and load a truck or trailer in one continuous operation.

The receiving section 11 is mounted on a rigid frame 18 by fixedly securing the two side panels 21 of the receiving section 11 to the side members 17 of the frame 18 by'any suitable means. The frame 18 may be provided with lateral support members 19, one of which is shown in FIG. 2, to give the frame 18 the desired rigidity. Rigid members 21b which are fixedly attached to the side panels 3,170,561 Patented Feb. 23, 1965 21 extend outward from the upper ends 21a of the side panels 21 to form an extension thereof.

The advantageous, economical construction of my unloader 10 primarily results from the efficient and novel employment of the line shaft 16 and the jack shaft 16a. The line shaft 16 is rotatably mounted between the upper ends 21a of the side panels 21 of the receiving section 11 by means of the bearings 22 which are secured to the side panels 21 by any suitable means. The jack shaft 16a is rotatably mounted between the upper ends 21c of the rigid members 2112 by means of bearings 23, which are fixedly secured to the side panels 21 by any suitable means. The elevator section 12 is pivotably mounted'on the jack shaft 16a by means of any suitable bearings 24 fixedly secured to its side walls 25. The elevator section 12 is thus pivotable about the jack shaft 16a from the substantially vertical unloading position shown in FIG. 1 to the substantially horizontal storage and towing position shown in FIG. 5. Any conventional means may be employed to retain the elevator section 12 in the desired vertical or horizontal position, and to move the elevator section 12 from one position to another.

Power is preferably transmitted to the line shaft 16 from any suitable motor 26, which may be either electric or gasoline, by a sprocket chain 27 which engages a sprocket wheel 28 fixedly secured to the line shaft 16. The motor 26 is conveniently mounted on a lateral member 29 extending between the side members 17 of the frame 18, as shown in FIG. 2. Fixedly mounted on the line shaft 16 are sprocket wheels 30, shown in FIG. 6, which directly drive the conveyor belt 13 of the receiving section 11. To keep any stresses in the conveyor belt 13 minimal and thereby give it a longer life, four sprocket wheels 30 are preferably employed to drive the conveyor belt 13. The conveyor belt 13 is carried by the sprocket wheels 30, a roller 31 extending between the side panels 21 at the front end 11c of the receiving section 11, and a guide wall 40 extending between the side walls 21 in substantially perpendicular relation thereto for the entire length of the conveyor belt 13 and inclined at approximately the same angle to the horizontal as the desired path of the conveyor belt 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor belt 13 is constrained to closely follow the guide wall 411 by the upper lips 41 and the lower lips 42 integrally projecting from the side panels 21 over and under, respectively, the outer edges of the conveyor belt 13. The guide wall 46 is well adapted for supporting the steel conveyor belt 13 preferably used in my unloader 10 because it beneficially tends to keep the height of the horizontal end 11a of the receiving section 11 minimal. Rollers or any other conventional means may, however, be substituted for the guide wall 40 if desired.

. The bucket conveyor 14 preferably consists of a plurality of buckets 32 attached to sprocket chains 33 which are carried by bucket conveyor sprocket wheels 34 fixedly secured to an upper shaft 35 and a lower shaft 36. The upper and lower shafts 35 and 36 are rotatably mounted between the side walls 25 of the elevator section 12. Power to drive the bucket conveyor 14 is preferably transmitted from the line shaft 16 to the jack shaft 16avia the sprocket chain 37, seen in FIG. 2, and from the jack shaft 16a to the lower shaft 36 by the sprocket chain 43, seen in FIGS. 1 and 5. The sprocket chain 37 is carried by a drive sprocket wheel 38 fixedly mounted on the line shaft 16 and driven sprocket wheel 39 fixedly mounted on the jack shaft 16a; the sprocket chain 43 is carried bya conveyor drive sprocket wheel 44 fixedly mounted on the jack shaft 16a and a driven sprocket wheel 45 fixedly mounted on thelower shaft 36. Preferably, the unloader 10 is so constructed that the jack shaft 16a is mounted near the lower end 12a of elevator section 12 some relatively short 7 distance above the lower shaft 36, as shown in FIGS.

l and Any type of conveyor which transports material substantially vertically may, if desired, be substituted for the illustrated bucket conveyor 14. v The frame 18 is preferably mounted on pneu'm'a'tic the frame 13 for the purpose of adjusting the amount of clearance between the bottom of the horizontal end 11a of the receiving section 11 and the surface on which the unloader l0 rests.v Such mounting of the tires'Zil may be very advantageous, expecially in those situations where the unloader it} and the bottom discharging vehicle or storage bin rest on areas of different elevation. Any suitable trailer hitch may be attached to the front end lie of the receiving section ill. for the purpose of towing'the unloader-lit.

One of the significant advantages of my unloader ltlis its ability to unload vehicles or storage bins which discharge their stored material through a bottom opening in situations in which the clearance between the bottom surface of the vehicle or bin and the surface of the area on which the vehicle or bin rests is only a few inches. An

horizontal line'shaft rotatably mounted between said side panels, means to drive said line shaft, said receiving section having a conveyor belt'driven by said line shaft, a substantially horizontal jackhaft rotatably mounted between said side panels, means for transmitting power from said line shaft to said jack shaft, an elevator section pivotally mountedon said jack shaft, said elevator section having a bucket conveyor driven by said jack shaft, said conveyor belt being adapted to pass material to said bucket example of such a situation is the unloading of a railroad hopper car, where the clearance may sometimes be as little as six inches. The use of the steel conveyor belt '13, the

Other advantages of the, steelconveyor belt 13 include its ability to move more material up a steeper incline at a faster rate and with less power expended than is possible with a rubber belt or a drag chain.

In addition .to permitting a rapid change from an operating position to a storage or towing position, the

pivotal mounting of the elevator section 12 on the jack shaft 16a has several other important advantages. Such mounting permits the rotational force for driving the bucket conveyor 14 to be efficiently transmitted from the line shaft 16 to the jack shaft 16a, and from there to the lower shaft- 36 of the bucket conveyor 14, as indicated schematically in FIG. 6. Consequentl the bucket conveyor upper shaft and itsattendant sprockets and bearings may be of a smaller size and a lighter weight than they would be if it were necessary to run a sprocket chain like 43 to the upper shaft 35 in order to drive the bucket conveyor 14. As a result of the reduced amount of weight located at the top of the elevator section 12, the center of gravity of the elevator section 12 is located approximately at the jack shaft'lda, which is the pivot point for the elevator section. One workman is therefore able to change the elevator section 12 from the unloading position to the towing position without difficulty. While a single workman is able to pivot the elevator section 12 back and forth between the horizontal and vertical positions unassisted, it may be desirable for reasons of safety to add a small hand winch to the unloader 10 to aid him.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustratedand described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An unloader device comprising, a frame, a material receiving section'having a pair of side panels and being mounted on said frame in fixed relation, a substantially conveyor. v

2. The unloader device of claim 1 in which the receiving section has a substantially horizontalend adapted to initially receive the material'to be unloaded.

3. The unloader device of claim 2, in whicha guide wall extends between the side panels -in substantially perpendicular relation thereto for supporting said conveyor belt during unloading, said guide wall being inclined at such an angle to the horizontal as to define' a desired path of travel for the conveyor belt, and means are provided to constrain said conveyor belt to closely follow said guide wall.

4. The unloader device of claim 3 in which the con-,

veyor belt is constructed of steel.

.5. A portable unloader device comprising, a tire mounted frame, a material receiving section mounted on said frame in fixed relation, said receiving section having a pair of side panels, a substantially horizontal line shaft rotatably mounted between said side panels, motor means forv driving said line shaft, a substantially horizontal jack shaft rotatably mounted between said side panels, means for transmitting power from said line shaft to said jack shaft, an elevator section pivotally mounted on said jack shaft, said elevator section being pivotable on said jack shaft from a substantially horizontaltraveling position to a substantially vertical unloading position, said receiving section having a substantially horizontal end adapted to initially receive the material to be unloaded and having a conveyor belt driven, by' said line shaft,said elevator section havinga bucket conveyor driven by said jack shaft, said conveyor belt being adapted to pass material to said bucket conveyor when said elevator section is in said unloading'position. a

6. The unloader device of claim 5 in which the conveyor belt is directly driven by .a plurality of sprocket wheels fixedly attached to the line shaft. 7

7. The unloader device of claim 5 in which the conveyor belt is constructed of steel.

8. The unloader device of claim 5 in which the elevator section has side walls, an upper end and a lower end, and'the jack shaft extendsibetween said side walls in rotatable relation thereto whereby said 'elevator'sec'tion ispivotable aboutsaid jack shaft from a substantially horizontal towing position to a substantially vertical unloading position. v I p t 9. The unloader device of claim 8 whereina conveyor drive sprocket is mounted on-the jack shaft in fixed relation thereto and wherein the bucket conveyor comprises, an upper shaft and a lower shaft rotatably mounted between the' side walls oftheelevator section, upper and lower bucket conveyor sprocket wheels mounted on said upper and lower shafts, respectively,.continuous sprocket chains carried by said upper and lower sprocket wheels, said sprocket chains supporting a plurality of buckets and being adapted to continuously convey said buckets about said sprocket wheels, and a driven sprocket secured in fixed relation to saidklower shaft, said conveyor drive sprocket being connected in driving relation to said driven rotatably supported by said side panels, means mounted v IL, on said frame to drive said line shaft, a substantially horizontal jack shaft rotatably mounted between said side I panels, means for transmitting power from said line shaft to said jack shaft, an elevator section with an upper end and a lower end and side walls, bearings secured tosaid side walls, said bearings being mounted on said jack shaft 'of said elevator section, upper and lower bucket conveyor sprocket wheels mounted on said upper and-lower shafts,

I respectively, a plurality of continuous sprocket chains carried by said upper and lower sprocket wheels, said sprocket chains supporting a plurality of buckets and being adapted to continuously convey said buckets about said sprocket wheels,,means connecting said jack shaft and said lower shaft to turn said lower shaft and lower sprocket wheels and drive said sprocket chains and said upper sprocket wheels, said receiving section having a conveyor belt driven by said line shaft and having a substantially horizontal end adapted to initially receive the material to be unloaded, said conveyor belt being adapted to pass material to said bucket conveyor when said elevator section is in said unloading position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED ST ATES PATENTS 1,492,106 4/24 Rickard 198102 X 1,494,223 5/24 Dussault 198102X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. WILLIAM B. LA BORDE, Examiner. 

1. AN UNLOADER DEVICE COMPRISING, A FRAME, A MATERIAL RECEIVING SECTION HAVING A PAIR OF SIDE PANELS AND BEING MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME IN FIXED RELATION, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL LINE SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID SIDE PANELS, MEANS TO DRIVE SAID LINE SHAFT, SAID RECEIVING SECTION HAVING A CONVEYOR BELT DRIVEN BY SAID LINE SHAFT, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL JACK SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID SIDE PANELS, MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER FROM SAID LINE SHAFT TO SAID JACK SHAFT, AN ELEVATOR SECTION PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID JACK SHAFT, SAID ELEVATOR SECTION HAVING A BUCKET CONVEYOR DRIVEN BY SAID JACK SHAFT, SAID CONVEYOR BELT BEING ADAPTED TO PASS MATERIAL TO SAID BUCKET CONVEYOR. 